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"Never under any condition should this nation look at an immigrant as primarily a labor unit. He should always be looked at primarily as a future citizen."-Theodore Roosevelt, 1917

"It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people."-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Isaona i tumungo’ ya ha sedi, ki ayo i mismo umisagui hao. Greater is the fault of he who allows the injustice upon himself. "-Chamorro proverb

"There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves." -Jose Rizal

"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights." -Bishop Desmond Tutu

Disclaimer: This is not a legal blog. No opinion or statement should be perceived as legal advice. All posts are the opinion of the author or contributors who are expressing their First Amendment Rights.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the CNMI Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Attorney General are bungling entities that are often ethically challenged and incapable of functioning to meet minimal acceptable standards. It may take a judge to wake up the people to the seriousness of the problem.

Associate Judge David Wiseman of the CNMI Superior Court slammed both the DPS and AGO for "failing to coordinate and cooperate in prosecuting cases." The Saipan Tribune quotes the judge:

“It is a complete waste of government resources and expense to have suspect criminals arrested and placed in a judicial prosecutorial process, only to have it all fall apart as a result of an absence of rigid standards of coordination and cooperation to be adhered to with respect to the investigations of DPS and the Criminal Division of the Attorney General's Office,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman noted that this was not the only case that was dismissed for similar reasons and warned them to get their acts together.

In March 2011 the U.S. District Court of the NMI extended time for the Office of the Attorney General to respond in a police brutality case against Jesse Reyes Babauta.

Earlier in October 2010 DPS officers botched a drug bust in Saipan where police officer Jesse Dubrall brutally beat an innocent Chinese man who was incorrectly identified as the drug dealer. That officer left the DPS days later and was reportedly working at the Office of the Public Auditor. No charges were filed by CNMI or federal law enforcement officials. Rumor has it that the Chinese barber and his wife reportedly left the island.

How many assault, rape and theft cases against foreign employees in the CNMI were never prosecuted? I would guess thousands. What criminal employer that stole wages from an employee or employees was ever prosecuted?

Furthermore, an astounding number of CNMI law enforcement officials have been charged with criminal violations, many of them violent. The following is a list of some Department of Public Safety and Department of Corrections officials who have been arrested over the last 10 or so years:

November 2009 - Saipan Sgt. Joseph Agulto arrested for beating up his girlfriend and charged with assault and battery, and disturbing the peace

October 2009 - Saipan Corrections Officer Jesse R. Babauta arrested for two counts of assault and battery, one count of assault, one count of interfering with a domestic violence report, and one count of criminal coercion (previously arrested and reinstated)

November 2007 - Rota Police Sgt. Steve M. Mendiola arrested for pointing a gun at his common-law wife and threatening to kill and charged with attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.

March 2007 - Tinian Police Officer Vicente N. Cruz two counts of assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, criminal mischief, and disturbing the peace and violating an order for protection for domestic violence against his wife

March 2006 - Tinian Police Sergeant Pedro B. Cepeda selling methamphetamine or “ice” Previously arrested for assaulting another police officer and a woman in October 2005 and in February 2004 - for one count of sexual assault in the second degree, two counts of assault and battery, one count of disturbing the peace, one count of illegal carrying of a firearm, two counts of criminal mischief, one count of misuse of government vehicle, one count of resisting arrest, one count of obstructing justice, one count of reckless driving, and one count of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

February 2006 - Saipan Police Shooting Range Master Ambrosio T. Ogumoro arrested on charges of assault and battery, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of ammunitions. He was not chraged for threatening to blowup the police station and for threatening to kill Governor Fitial (record expunged in 2008 and he was reinstated)

February 2006 - Saipan Police Captain Aniceto T. Ogumoro arrested on charges of two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a weapon without proper registration, and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. The case was dismissed because of improper search warrants, evidence was suppressed. (reinstated)

October 2005 - Saipan Police Officer Kui Rogopes on charges of misconduct in public office and accessory-after-the-fact in connection with the criminal case against Daniel Kintaro Santos

January 2005 - Saipan Police Detective Eric John Tudela Mafnas stealing seized drugs and selling them, charged with legal use of public supplies, services, time, and personnel; theft; and theft by deception

January 2005 - Saipan Police Detective Charley K. Patris stealing seized drugs and selling them, charged with legal use of public supplies, services, time, and personnel; theft; and theft by deception

August 2002 - former police Officer Riang Yosino charged with disturbing the peace of two female cousins at a theater and assault and battery of a police officer. He was previously charged with hit and run with a police car involving 4 damaged vehicles and two injuries while he was DUI.

There's more. In February 2010 Li Gui Xiang alleges she was assaulted by police officers on Saipan. In May 2007, employees of the Top Fashion garment factory in Tanapag alleged police brutality when during a sit down protest police officers pepper sprayed and kicked some of the protesters. (The brutality was captured and posted on You tube.) In October 2005 Dan Gao Bright, a tour agency operator was pulled over while driving, allegedly assaulted by Police Officer John C. Sablan and falsely imprisoned for 8 hours. In August 2005 a Chinese store owner alleged police brutality. In August 2003 then DPS commissioner Edward Camacho and an unnamed policeman were sued by Zhang Qisen who was allegedly assaulted and falsely detained. In August 2002 another Chinese victim, Kwon Woo Kim, sued DPS officer Ralph Mendiola Torres for false arrest, assault and battery and other civil rights violations.

The Office of the Attorney General is no better. Over the two years attorneys have left the OAG in droves, 14 have left since Buckingham took office. Maybe it is time for AG Buckingham to step down. Perhaps he is so preoccupied defending himself, the governor and the Administration's political allies against ethics charges that he doesn't have time to do his job.

6
comments:

Anonymous
said...

We can't expect law and order when the enforcers are major law breakers. What tourist would come here? Don't you think they read about a place before they go to it? Tourists have been major victims of crime in the last year too. Word spreads. We are officially a hell-hole.

It’s quite interesting how the Marianas Variety editor slavishly follows the lead of Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham III in using the acronym “AGO” for his office rather than the “OAG” abbreviation of its legal name, Office of the Attorney General. See 1 CMC § 2151.

Zaldy Dandan does not pay Ed such absolute deference in most other spheres, making this all the more glaring.

I want to repeat my public appreciation of the fairness and even-handedness with which you moderate your blog. As long as comments are polite and civil (and not excessively repetitive) you refrain from censoring opposing viewpoints submitted to your blog. That is highly admirable.

In sharp contrast is the treatment of a comment I submitted today to the Marianas Variety.

AS SUBMITTED:-----------------------------------

As a counter-example, our Attorney General, the Honorable Edward T. Buckingham III, arrogantly and slavishly persists in using the acronym “AGO” for his office rather than the “OAG” abbreviation of its legal name, Office of the Attorney General. See 1 CMC 2151. Surprisingly, he garners a great deal of support in doing so from closet sympathizers within the Fourth Estate. There is little difference between judicial activism and surreptitious editorial advocacy. If you don’t like the law, work to change it. Don’t ignore it.

Will Judge Manglona follow the wide, lazy, result-oriented path Ed has blazed, or the narrow trail of strict adherence to the rule of law? I predict the latter.

AS POSTED:-----------------------------------

The “OAG” is the abbreviation of its legal name, Office of the Attorney General. See 1 CMC 2151. If you don’t like the law, work to change it. Don’t ignore it.

Will Judge Manglona follow the wide, lazy, result-oriented path the AG has blazed, or the narrow trail of strict adherence to the rule of law? I predict the latter.

-----------------------------------

This is a substantial alteration in the meaning of the posted comment. One can see that the Marianas Variety has a very “thin skin” when it comes to criticism of its own activities. So much so, that it needs to hide the degree with which it adopts and enables the practices, attitudes, and behaviors of AG Buckingham.

It would appear that editor Zaldy Dandan can be just as sneaky and dishonest as some of the members of the Babauta and Fitial administrations he has made a career of criticising for more than a decade.

I don't understand why the comment would be edited at all. I don't always agree with Zaldy, but I don't see him as sneaky or dishonest. Ask him why the comment was edited. Maybe it wasn't him who did it?